125: Maxtra 'not so fast at the moment'.

Austrian Michael Ranseder made his Maxtra debut on his return from injury at Valencia last week (pictured).

Ranseder, injured during free practice for October's Australian GP, was testing the new Chinese-backed 125cc grand prix machine alongside the factory Aprilia 125cc, 250cc and WSBK teams.

"For me, it was my first time back on a bike in something like eight weeks," confirmed Ranseder. "I had a big crash at Phillip Island at the Australian GP, and I have been recovering since then. I hurt my back, and also banged my head quite hard. For a week or so it definitely wasn't safe for me to ride. I really needed more than a month to get over it."

While no lap times were released by Maxtra, Ranseder claims to have made a 'big improvement' during the two days, but admitted 'we are not so fast at the moment'.

"I was really looking forward to my first meeting with the Maxtra and with the new team, and it went well," he said. "Of course we are starting from the beginning so we still have to get the bike adjusted right for me: the fairing, the tank, the footrests, handlebars and levers. But it was a good start. The basic feeling is very good, and we know what and where we have to improve.

"I'm also feeling quite happy about the progress. When we did have good conditions, there was a big improvement in lap time over the two days. And I also saw that some of the other people testing - top factory Aprilias and so on - were having quite a lot of problems with the track conditions, and a few crashes.

"We are the newcomer and we are not so fast at the moment. But we are improving the engine and the chassis all the time, going step by step. And we are coming. That's a better feeling than being on a bike you already know is good, and then to have trouble with getting a good lap time.

"We concentrated mainly on testing the engine, changing the carburetion and things like that, and on the second day we worked a little with chassis settings.

"Now I will go home to Austria and wait for the next chance to test. This was just the start. I can't wait for the next step," he concluded.

Ranseder's team-mate is still to be officially announced, but 17-year-old Matt Hoyle was spotted at the test. Hoyle won this year's 125cc British Championship as well as the season-ending Valencia Red Bull Rookies race.